You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. – C.S. Lewis

Chocolate Olive Oil Madeleines with Almond or Pecan Flour

I’m going to be the first to admit that I’ve never eaten a traditionally made madeleine. I make mention of this since I was recently asked in a comment on one of my previous madeleine recipes if they tasted like “real” madelienes.

The only madeleines I’ve eaten are the ones I’ve made and that I’ve posted here before. The only wheat-laden madeleines I’ve seen around here are at Starbucks, sealed in a plastic package and sold in threes, by the tip jar and I’ve never tried them simply because – truth be told – I like mine. (I hope that doesn’t make me sound like a snob!)

It’s almost a month since I last posted a chocolate recipe, so I hope it isn’t too soon to be posting another.

This recipe I’d actually marked down a long time ago – cough, two years ago – and only made it just this month. No time like the present, right? Everyone here has loved them and I’ve made them several times already. Using either almond flour or pecan flour doesn’t seem to make a noticeable difference in flavour, so use what you have on hand or prefer. They’re soft and moist, almost on the plush side. The olive oil works nicely with the cocoa and can be tasted even after baking (usually an issue when baking with olive oil), so be sure to use a good, quality oil.

I don’t think I need to go into the details about what makes madeleines special, seeing as I have in these last two recipes (lemon madeleines – early blogging days! – and blueberry lemon madeleines; both are also SCD and made with almond flour), though I will say that in order to make madeleines, you must have a madeleine pan. They’re defined by their shape, if not anything else. Should you not have a madeleine pan, you could make them into friands by baking them in a muffin pan and using cupcake liners. (There are specific moulds for friands as well but let’s just keep things simple, or else I’ll drive myself crazy.)

As mentioned above, you can use either almond flour or pecan flour. While a stronger and more distinctive flavour, the pecan flour doesn’t seem to make a noticeable difference in flavour. The olive oil works nicely with the cocoa and you can taste it even after baking (usually an issue when baking with olive oil), so be sure to use a good, quality oil.

I haven’t listed it in the ingredients but sometimes I add ground cinnamon to the batter (probably 1/2 teaspoon). Chocolate and cinnamon, or in this case cocoa powder, go really well together and gives it a little extra something.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease a madeleine pan with oil (such as olive or coconut) or butter. Tip: greasing with butter makes the madeleines easier to ply out than with oil – they practically pop out and leave no residual crumbs behind.

Whisk together the nut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs and, still using the whisk, mix until you have a thick dough. Pour in honey and add vanilla extract. Add olive oil. You’ll now have a thick batter.

Spoon the batter into the madeleine pans, almost to the top. Leave a little room, as they will rise a bit during baking. (If you fill it to the top, the madeleines will expand over the moulds.)

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They’ll have risen, and should look like they have a slight belly. Cool for a few minutes before gently plying the madeleines out with a spoon and or butter knife. They should come out easily and cleanly.